To the best of my recollection, this was 20th Century Fox's first foray into
the world of DVD, and the first time a double-disc set
was devoted to a single movie. And what better movie than James Cameron's
epic, oft-misunderstood The
Abyss? I've always liked that film's feel, its characters,
the cast, the sets, the music, and just the total atmosphere that is the sum
of all of those elements. Sure, by the time Cameron reaches the point at
which he delivers his anti-war message, it's brought home to the viewer with
the quiet, delicate touch of a jackhammer at a Manhattan construction site,
but if you've made it that far into the movie, chances are you'll be too
engrossed in other things to be put off by the oversimplification of the
sermon. And hey, it's still more eloquent than "All these worlds are yours, except
Europa..."
The double-DVD edition of The Abyss is no less groundbreaking,
and I think it's often overlooked as an early example, along with The Matrix, of the "killer app
DVD" that the industry now tries too hard to provide with every release
to hit the shelves.
The first disc contains the movie in its expanded "special edition"
form, topping out at just over three hours (but so very much worth it),
as well as the bewilderingly-edited theatrical release that ruined The
Abyss for so many moviegoers. The remastering is perfect, the images
are as clear as you could hope for and then...well, then there's disc two.
Disc two has a range of bonus features to satisfy everyone from the
casual fan to diehard students of filmmaking. I think the latter is the
audience for whom such features as the complete movie in storyboard form is
intended; I must admit, I have yet to thumb through the entire film as
comic-book-like sketches, scene-by-scene. The complete screenplay is also
included for those who have DVD-ROM drives. Cast and crew bios, and a lengthy
multi-part essay on the genesis of the movie's story, are included. There
are also multi-angle sequences for some of the film's pivotal CGI scenes,
allowing you to see the finished product, the original plate photography
minus any digital elements, and early animation tests. The hour-long
documentary is the crowning jewel, showing both the scope of the production
and the mounting tensions between cast and crew and director (don't I recall
hearing similar complaints from the cast and crew of Titanic,
Cameron's next big watery splash of a flick?).
A killer package - the movie, and damn near everything you could want to
know about it. Though the sheer amount of features has now been surpassed
by such DVD releases as Star Wars
Episode I, this is one of the first examples of the uber-DVD
experience that I can recall - and I still find myself going back to
look at something and learning something new about it each time.
The movie ain't bad either.
Reviewed by Earl
Green theLogBook.com editor/webmaster
